kale (English)

Where does "kale" come from?

The English word 'kale' traces its roots back through Northern Middle English 'cale' and Old English 'cāl'[1]. These forms ultimately derive from the Latin 'caulis', meaning 'straight stalk'[1][2], which also connects to the Proto-Indo-European reconstructed form '*keh₂ulis'[2]. Along its linguistic journey, the term was adopted into Germanic languages, yielding cognates such as Icelandic 'kál' and German 'Kohl', both meaning 'cabbage'.

Open questions

• The Proto-Indo-European root '*keh₂ulis' is a reconstructed form. [2]

Full etymology tree

• kale (English), 'An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)'
  • inherited cale (Middle English), 'alternative form of col'
    • inherited cal (Old English), 'cabbage, kale, colewort'
      • derived cawel (Old English), 'colewort'
        • inherited *kauli (Proto-West Germanic), 'cabbage, colewort'
          • borrowed caulis (Latin), 'stalk, stem'
            • inherited *keh₂ulis (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• cale (Middle English)
• cal (Old English)
• caulis (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• caulis (English)
• cole (English)
• gobi (English)
• Kohl (German)
• kál (Icelandic)

Descendants and derived words

• Asian kale (English)
• black kale (English)
• Brusselkale (English)
• Chinese kale (English)
• curly kale (English)
• dinosaur kale (English)
• Italian kale (English)
• kalelike (English)
• kale runt (English)
• kalette (English)
• muslin-kale (English)
• palm tree kale (English)

Related words

• spinach (English)
• broccoli (English)

Sources

1. kale (English) - Wiktionary
2. caulis (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. cal (Old English) - Wiktionary
4. col (Middle English) - Wiktionary
5. cawel (Old English) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris